Website of the Japanese Cabinet Legislation Bureau, the government department that assists the Cabinet on legislative matters. The site provides information on the work of the Bureau including its role in providing legal advice and opinions to the Prime Minister and Cabinet and examining legislative bills, draft Cabinet orders and draft treaties. The site also gives an outline of the legislative process in Japan. The site can be viewed in English and Japanese.
Website of the Tokyo Bar Association (also known as 'Toben') the largest local bar association in Japan. The site gives information about the work of the association and its committees. There is background information on how to qualify as a Bengoshi (Japanese barrister) and how foreign lawyers can practice in Japan. The site includes a glossary of terms relating to the Japanese legal profession and can be viewed in English and Japanese.
Website of the Institute of Intellectual Property (IIP) a research and development organisation which was established in 1989 and has offices in Japan and the United States. The site provides summaries of the IIP's research work which is focused on Japanese IP issues and includes topics such as the international harmonisation of trademark systems, influences of the patent system on the economy and patent protection in the fields of medicine and biotechnology. Selected examples of the IIP's research work are made freely available in full-text in PDF format.
Website of the Institute of Business Law and Comparative Law and Politics (IBC), University of Tokyo. The IBC was formed in 2006 through the integration of the Center for Foreign Law Materials (established in 1963), the International Center for Comparative Law and Politics (ICCLP, established in 1993) and the Business Law Center (established in 2001). The site has information about the activities of the Institute. It provides access to a few full-text publications, such as the ICCLP Review (1998-2002), and gives bibliographic details of others.
An online journal developed by the William S. Richardson Law School at the University of Hawaii at Monoa. The journal is published twice a year and is available from the inaugural edition, February 2000, onwards. It focuses on a range of jurisdictions, including China, Japan, Korea, the United States and the Pacific and Southeast Asian regions generally.
Website of the Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA), an independent organisation originally established in 1950 by the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The site gives an overview of the work of the JCAA, defining its main purpose as the resolution of international and domestic commercial disputes. The site provides access to Japanese full text arbitration laws in English along with rules, regulations and the standard arbitration clause developed by JCAA.
The Australian Network for Japanese Law is maintained by the College of Law at the Australian National University, the Faculty of Law at Bond University and the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney. Membership is not required to view the site, but is free and offers notifications of upcoming events and conferences. Aside from lists of events, courses and publications, the site also provides some full-text and abstracted articles (from the Journal of Japanese Law) and research papers.
Website of the Waseda Bulletin of Comparative Law made freely available online by the Waseda University Institute of Comparative Law. Issues from issue 1 (1981) onwards are provided in full text (PDF) with the exception of the most recent issue. Earlier issues are password protected. Each issue contains a number of feature articles and a round up of legal developments in constitutional, international, administrative and labour law, the law of property and obligation, civil procedure and bankruptcy and criminal law and procedure. The Bulletin is mostly in English.
The Buraku Liberation and Human Rights Research Institute (BLHRRI) is a research and training organisation concerned with discrimination against the Buraku people in Japan. Buraku people are a minority group whose ancestors were considered outcasts because of their occupations. The site provides background and historical information, details of BLHRRI's publications and issues of Buraku Liberation News from 1997 onwards; this newsletter can be viewed in English and gives details of events, activities and research along with campaign updates. The site is in English and Japanese.
Collection of Japanese employment acts, in English and Japanese, provided by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training. The acts cover topics including contracts, standards, equality, insurance, part-time working, industrial relations and health and safety.
